Published: Monday April 26
Francis Fernandez
Ramunia will be awarded the project once it receives a bank guarantee from financial institutions willing to back the company’s participation in it, says a source.
It is understood that the contract is from Shell Malaysia’s upstream operating company Sarawak Shell Bhd.
Just two weeks ago, Shell Sarawak and its partner Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd signed two new exploration and production sharing contracts (PSCs) offshore Sarawak with Petroliam Nasional Bhd.
According to Shell, the minimum financial commitment for activities in the two blocks would be in the region of US$145 million (RM444 million) over the next four years.
Business Times was told that an announcement could be made by as early as next week, and that winning the project would help speed up Ramunia’s exit from the Practice Note 17 category (PN17).
PN17 companies are those that face some financial difficulties
and need to regularise their accounts to help justify their existence as an ongoing business entity.
Bursa Malaysia Securities had on January 19 approved Ramunia’s regularisation plan.
Under the plan, Ramunia is proposing a renounceable two-for-five rights issue of up to 391.441 million new shares at an indicative issue price of 40 sen per rights share.
The script exercise if fully subscribed will help raise some RM156.6 million.
The money from the rights issue is expected to be used to buy a fabrication yard in Pulau Indah for RM83.8 million from Oilfab Sdn Bhd.
Ramunia also has the backing from Lembaga Tabung Haji, which owns a 25.17 per cent stake in the company, to subscribe for its entitlement under the proposed rights shares.
It is further understood that upon completion of the exercise, the company’s name will be changed to Tabung Haji Energy Bhd.
